A PAIR OF YOUNG PIGEONS IN NEST.Photo by J. T. Newman][Berkhamsted.A PAIR OF YOUNG PIGEONS IN NEST.The hair-like down of the young pigeon is quite different to any other nestling down.
Photo by J. T. Newman][Berkhamsted.A PAIR OF YOUNG PIGEONS IN NEST.The hair-like down of the young pigeon is quite different to any other nestling down.
Photo by J. T. Newman][Berkhamsted.
A PAIR OF YOUNG PIGEONS IN NEST.
The hair-like down of the young pigeon is quite different to any other nestling down.
Whilst many of the Pigeon Tribe seem to have succeeded in dyeing their feathers with all the hues of the rainbow, others have secured equal glory by a covering which at first sight would rather appear to be of burnished metal than of feathers. The most striking instance of this is found in the magnificentNicobar Pigeons. There are two species of these birds, which occur not only in the Nicobar Islands, from which they take their name, but also in the Malay Archipelago and the Solomon and Pelew Islands. The general tone of the one species is black, but the upper parts are superbly glossed with bronze and copper reflections. The other, from the Pelew Islands, is indigo-blue in general tone. In one of the Nicobar Islands these birds occur in thousands. Furthermore, these two pigeons stand alone, in that the neck-feathers are greatly elongated, forming "hackles" like those of the common fowl.
The largest of living pigeons are theGouras, orCrowned Pigeons. There are six species, all of which are confined to Australasia. They are characterised by a huge and very beautiful fan-shaped crest of feathers which springs from the crown of the head.
SOUTHERN FRUIT-PIGEON.Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.SOUTHERN FRUIT-PIGEON.The flesh of the fruit-pigeon surpasses that of all other birds in delicacy.
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.SOUTHERN FRUIT-PIGEON.The flesh of the fruit-pigeon surpasses that of all other birds in delicacy.
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.
SOUTHERN FRUIT-PIGEON.
The flesh of the fruit-pigeon surpasses that of all other birds in delicacy.
NICOBAR IMPERIAL FRUIT-PIGEONS.Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.NICOBAR IMPERIAL FRUIT-PIGEONS.These birds lay but a single egg, which is large.
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.NICOBAR IMPERIAL FRUIT-PIGEONS.These birds lay but a single egg, which is large.
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.
NICOBAR IMPERIAL FRUIT-PIGEONS.
These birds lay but a single egg, which is large.
NEW GUINEA CROWNED PIGEON.Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S.][Regent's Park.NEW GUINEA CROWNED PIGEON.This is the largest of living pigeons.
Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S.][Regent's Park.NEW GUINEA CROWNED PIGEON.This is the largest of living pigeons.
Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S.][Regent's Park.
NEW GUINEA CROWNED PIGEON.
This is the largest of living pigeons.
WONGA-WONGA PIGEON.Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S.][Regent's Park.WONGA-WONGA PIGEON.This bird is found in the brush country of Eastern Australia.
Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S.][Regent's Park.WONGA-WONGA PIGEON.This bird is found in the brush country of Eastern Australia.
Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S.][Regent's Park.
WONGA-WONGA PIGEON.
This bird is found in the brush country of Eastern Australia.
At the other extreme stand theNamaquaandScaly Doves. The former is regarded by Professor Newton as one of the most graceful in form of all the Pigeon Tribe: the latter are scarcely, if at all, larger than the sparrows.
The power of flight of some forms is, however, extremely limited; they bid fair in course of time to become flightless, like the dodo and the solitaire. The most interesting of these is theGrey-naped Ground-pigeon. Pigeons for the most part display a marked preference for a life among the trees rather than on the ground; but there are some which are essentially ground-dwellers. The species in which this changed habit is most deeply rooted, and probably of longest standing, exhibit one very interesting point of difference from their neighbours of the woods. This difference consists in the very considerably longer legs which mark the ground-haunting bird. TheGrey-naped Ground-pigeonof South-east New Guinea forms an excellent example, inasmuch as the legs are much longer than in any other pigeon. These birds (for there are three species in all) resemble the Megapodes in habit, and frequent hills or dense thickets. They lay one egg, which is deposited at the foot of a tree.
MALE BLACK-BELLIED SAND-GROUSE.Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.MALE BLACK-BELLIED SAND-GROUSE.Young sand-grouse run directly they are hatched, thus differing from young pigeons.
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.MALE BLACK-BELLIED SAND-GROUSE.Young sand-grouse run directly they are hatched, thus differing from young pigeons.
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.
MALE BLACK-BELLIED SAND-GROUSE.
Young sand-grouse run directly they are hatched, thus differing from young pigeons.
Among domesticated breeds is theEnglish Pouter, a bird characterised by its enormous gullet, which can be distended with air whenever the owner wills. The carriage of the body is vertical, not, as in pigeons generally, horizontal. TheCarrieris a breed illustrating the result of long-sustained selection to increase, amongst other characters, the development of the bare skin surrounding the eye and beak of all pigeons, wild or tame. In theShort-faced Tumblerwe have a breed wherein those birds with the shortest beaks have been steadily bred from. To-day so little beak is left that some individuals are hatched which, when grown up, are unable to feed themselves. An example of a radical change in the feathers is theIndian Frill-back. In this case the feathers all over the body are reversed, or turned forwards, giving the bird a quite extraordinary appearance. In theJacobinwe have a breed—and we could cite others—wherein the feathers of the neck are much elongated, and turn upwards and forwards over the head to form a hood.
In general appearanceSand-grouseare small, very short-legged birds, with small heads and pointed wings and tail. Their general tone of coloration may be described as sand-coloured, and this has been adopted to render them in harmony with the barren sand-wastes in which they dwell. But some may be described as quite highly coloured, being banded and splashed with chestnut, black, pearly grey, white, and yellow, according to the species.
Pallas's Sand-grouseis a native of the Kirghiz Steppes, extending through Central Asia to Mongolia and Northern China, and northwards to Lake Baikal, and southwards to Turkestan. Here they may be met with in enormous numbers. In North China large numbers are often caught after a snow-storm. The snow is cleared away, and a small green bean is scattered about. Young sand-grouse differ remarkably in one particular from young pigeons, inasmuch as the former are hatched covered with a thick down, and are able to run about soon after leaving the egg, whilst the pigeon comes into the world very helpless and much in need of clothing. Three eggs are laid by the sand-grouse, and these are double-spotted; whilst the pigeon lays but two, which are white. The eggs of the sand-grouse are laid in a depression in the ground, without any nest.
CROWNED CRANE.Photo by Ottomar Anschütz, Berlin.Printed at Lyons, France.CROWNED CRANE.The feathers of the Crest of this bird look not unlike stiff hairs.
Photo by Ottomar Anschütz, Berlin.Printed at Lyons, France.CROWNED CRANE.The feathers of the Crest of this bird look not unlike stiff hairs.
Photo by Ottomar Anschütz, Berlin.Printed at Lyons, France.
CROWNED CRANE.
The feathers of the Crest of this bird look not unlike stiff hairs.
AUKS, GULLS, AND PLOVERS.
THE AUK TRIBE.
TheGuillemotis found all around Britain, and breeds wherever the sea is fringed by cliffs affording ledges for the reception of the eggs. It breeds in colonies often numbering many thousands, and lays but one egg, which is large and pear-shaped. Since the guillemot builds no nest, but lays its egg on the bare rock, this peculiar shape is advantageous, since it revolves on itself, when disturbed, instead of rolling off the ledge into the sea. At the same time thousands of eggs fall into the sea every year owing to the bird's leaving the egg, whilst incubating, in too great a hurry. At Lundy Island one of the sources of amusement for the gaping tourist was that of firing a shot to frighten the birds, with the result that, at each shot, showers of eggs were knocked off the ledges on to the rocks below. The colour of the egg varies infinitely, no two being quite alike. This, it has been suggested, is useful, as the mother is thereby enabled to identify her own egg, even when surrounded by hundreds of others. The young are covered with long down, and when big enough, but still unable to fly, are taken down by the mother to the sea, being carried, some say, on her back: others say the chick is seized by the wing and carried down.
WHITE TERN.By permission of the Hon. Walter Rothschild, Tring.WHITE TERN.There are two species of white tern, almost restricted to the Southern Hemisphere.
By permission of the Hon. Walter Rothschild, Tring.WHITE TERN.There are two species of white tern, almost restricted to the Southern Hemisphere.
By permission of the Hon. Walter Rothschild, Tring.
WHITE TERN.
There are two species of white tern, almost restricted to the Southern Hemisphere.
TheRazor-billis nearly, if not quite, as common on the coasts of Britain as the guillemot, from which it may be readily distinguished by its beak, which is much compressed from side to side—hence its name of Razor-bill—and deeply grooved. In habits it very closely resembles the guillemot, but in one respect at least it is a more interesting bird, inasmuch as it is related to and closely resembles the now extinctGreat Auk, the giant of the tribe. The smallest British representative, it should be mentioned, is theLittle Auk, a species more nearly allied to the guillemot. It is only a winter visitant to Britain, breeding in huge colonies on the inhospitable shores of Greenland and Iceland.
So quaint a bird as thePuffinmost certainly finds a place here. One of its most characteristic features is its enormous bill, which is rendered more conspicuous on account of its bright colour. It is bluish at the base, yellow at the tip, and striped with orange. A very remarkable feature of this bill is the fact that it is larger in summer than winter, portions of the sheath being shed in autumn.
Enormous numbers of puffins breed in Ireland; myriads breed on Lundy Island. The Farne Islands, the cliffs of Flamborough, and Scotland are also tenanted by thousands. Puffins breed in holes, which they dig for themselves when occasion requires, but when rabbit-burrows are to be had they prefer these, dispossessing the owners without the slightest compunction. Might, with the puffin, is right, as well as with many other animals.
Young puffins, like young auks and guillemots, are hatched covered with long down. The parents feed them on fish, which they deposit at the mouth of the burrow twenty at a time, and give them to the young bird one by one. When the female is sitting, her mate feeds her in a similar way.
Puffins lay only a single egg, which differs from that of its relatives the Auks and Guillemots in being white. The white colour enables the sitting-bird to see it in the dark burrow.
THE GULL TRIBE.
To get at the real inwardness of the Gull Tribe, so to speak, we must examine their anatomy very closely; then we shall be convinced that they are modified Plovers, and have nothing to do with the Petrels, to which they bear an undoubted resemblance.
Terns.
Terns are gulls in miniature, on which account it is probable that many a visitor to the seashore passes them unwittingly. But let him watch next time for what look like flocks of tiny, long-winged, and unusually active gulls, now hovering gracefully in the air, and now suddenly plunging headlong like an arrow to the sea, with a force and dash that will surprise him, now that attention is drawn to them. These are terns. From their vivacity and forked tails, they have been aptly named Sea-swallows.
TERNS ON A SHINGLE BANK.Photo by G. Watmough Webster & Son][Chester.TERNS ON A SHINGLE BANK.Terns lay their eggs among the shingle; from their coloration, these are difficult to detect among the surrounding stones.
Photo by G. Watmough Webster & Son][Chester.TERNS ON A SHINGLE BANK.Terns lay their eggs among the shingle; from their coloration, these are difficult to detect among the surrounding stones.
Photo by G. Watmough Webster & Son][Chester.
TERNS ON A SHINGLE BANK.
Terns lay their eggs among the shingle; from their coloration, these are difficult to detect among the surrounding stones.
There are several species of tern. Like the Gulls, they have a distinctive dress for summer and winter, but the sexes are both dressed alike. The general livery, as with the Gulls, is pearly grey above and pure white below—in summer, in some species, relieved by a black head. One species, theRoseate Tern, has the breast suffused with a most exquisite rose-pink, which fades rapidly after death, however. Young terns, in their first plumage, differ conspicuously from their parents, having much brown intermixed with grey.
Terns lay about three eggs, which are deposited among the shingle on the beach; and so closely do the eggs, and later on the young, resemble the surrounding stones that it is almost impossible to find them. As a rule terns breed in colonies, often numbering many thousand birds.
There are exceptions to the rule just laid down as to nest-building. One species of theNoddy Terns, for example, builds a nest of turf and dry grass, placed in bushes or in low trees. It seems to return to the same nest year after year, adding on each return new materials, till they form masses nearly 2 feet in height. Occasionally it appears to make a mud-nest, placed in the fork of a tree; whilst the superb littleWhite Noddyoften depositsits egg on the leaf of a cocoanut-palm—truly a wonderful site, and still more wonderful when we reflect that it is chosen by one of the Gull Tribe.
About six species of tern commonly occur in the British Islands, and some five or six other species occasionally visit them.
Skimmers.
HERRING-GULL.Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co.][Parson's Green.HERRING-GULL.So called from its habit of following the shoals of herrings.
Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co.][Parson's Green.HERRING-GULL.So called from its habit of following the shoals of herrings.
Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co.][Parson's Green.
HERRING-GULL.
So called from its habit of following the shoals of herrings.
TheSkimmersare tern-like birds, with a very wide geographical distribution, occurring in India, Africa, and North and South America, and remarkable for the very extraordinary form of the beak. The upper jaw is much shorter than the lower, and both are compressed to the thinness of a knife-blade. This beak is associated with, and is probably an adaptation to, an equally remarkable method of feeding, which has been admirably described by Darwin, who watched them feeding in a lake near Maldonado.
"They kept their bills," he says, "wide open, and the lower mandible half buried in the water. Thus skimming the surface, they ploughed it in their course; ... and it formed a most curious spectacle to behold a flock, each bird leaving its narrow wake on the mirror-like surface. In their flight ... they dexterously manage with their projecting lower mandible to plough up small fish, which are secured by the upper and shorter half of their scissor-like bills."
The Gulls.
YOUNG HERRING-GULLS IN THE GREY PHASE OF PLUMAGE.Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co.][Parson's Green.YOUNG HERRING-GULLS IN THE GREY PHASE OF PLUMAGE.In their dull grey plumage the young of all gulls are very unlike the adults.
Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co.][Parson's Green.YOUNG HERRING-GULLS IN THE GREY PHASE OF PLUMAGE.In their dull grey plumage the young of all gulls are very unlike the adults.
Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co.][Parson's Green.
YOUNG HERRING-GULLS IN THE GREY PHASE OF PLUMAGE.
In their dull grey plumage the young of all gulls are very unlike the adults.
Gulls are larger and heavier birds than terns, with longer legs, and shorter, thicker beaks. Furthermore, with one exception, the tail is never forked. Like the terns, gulls generally breed in colonies, and these are often of large size. Young gulls, when newly hatched, are quite active. Later, when their feathers have grown, they are found to wear a dress quite different from that of the parents. Sometimes the adult plumage is gained at the end of the first year of existence, sometimes not until after the third year. Gulls feed on everything that comes in their way, from fish caught swimming at the surface of the sea to worms picked up at the plough-tail.
One of the commonest and best known of all the gulls is perhaps the species known as theBlack-headed Gull, which has become so common in the heart of busy London, where hundreds may be seen, during the winter months, flying up and down the river, orwheeling about over the lakes in the parks. The black-headed gull receives its popular name on account of the fact that, like some terns and some other gulls, in the spring, the feathers of the head suddenly acquire a sooty-black colour: all trace of this is lost in the winter, save for two patches, one behind each ear.
STONE-CURLEW, OR THICK-KNEE.Photo by W. F. Piggott][Leighton Buzzard.STONE-CURLEW, OR THICK-KNEE.The plumage so closely resembles the sandy soil on which the bird lives that concealment is easily effected by crouching close to the ground.
Photo by W. F. Piggott][Leighton Buzzard.STONE-CURLEW, OR THICK-KNEE.The plumage so closely resembles the sandy soil on which the bird lives that concealment is easily effected by crouching close to the ground.
Photo by W. F. Piggott][Leighton Buzzard.
STONE-CURLEW, OR THICK-KNEE.
The plumage so closely resembles the sandy soil on which the bird lives that concealment is easily effected by crouching close to the ground.
The eggs of this bird are collected in thousands each spring, and sold in London and other markets as plovers' eggs. As many as 20,000 have been taken in a season from the extensive gullery at Scoulton Mere, in Norfolk.
Three or four eggs are laid in a nest of rushes, which is always placed on the ground in marshy and often inaccessible spots.
The largest of the Gull Tribe is theGreat Black-backed Gull, which is, furthermore, a common British bird; indeed, it is frequently seen flying, together with the last-mentioned species, on the Thames, doing its best to get a full share of the tit-bits thrown by interested spectators from the various London bridges. Unlike the black-headed gull, it has no seasonal change of plumage, but is clad all the year round in the purest white, set off by a mantle of bluish black. The young of this bird has a quite distinct plumage of greyish brown, and hence has been described as a distinct species—theGrey Gull. This dress is gradually changed for the adult plumage, but the process takes about three years.
CURLEW.Photo by W. F. Piggott][Leighton Buzzard.CURLEW.So called on account of its note.
Photo by W. F. Piggott][Leighton Buzzard.CURLEW.So called on account of its note.
Photo by W. F. Piggott][Leighton Buzzard.
CURLEW.
So called on account of its note.
TheKittiwakeis another of the common British gulls, breeding in thousands in favourable localities on the coasts. Its eggs are deposited on the narrowest and most inaccessible ledges of precipitous cliffs. This species sometimes falls a victim to the fashion of wearing feathers. "At Clovelly," writes Mr. Howard Saunders, "there was a regular staff for preparing plumes; and fishing-smacks, with extra boats and crews, used to commence their work of destruction at Lundy Island by daybreak on the 1st of August.... In many cases the wings were torn off the wounded birds before they were dead, the mangled victims being tossed back into the water." And he has seen, he continues, "hundreds of young birds dead or dying of starvation in the nests, through the want of their parents' care.... It is well within the mark to say that at least 9,000 of these inoffensive birds were destroyed during the fortnight."
Of theSkua-gullsthere are several species. Their coloration differs from that of the gulls just described in being confined to shades of brown. One of their most remarkable traits is that of piracy. They await their cousins the Gulls coming shoreward from the sea with newly swallowed fish, and then, giving chase, compel the gull, in order to lighten itself and escape, to disgorge its hard-won meal. So swift of flight is the skua that the ejected morsel is caught before it reaches the water.
THE PLOVER TRIBE.
Birdsof very various size, shape, and coloration are included in this group—that is to say, birds which vary much superficially, but, it must be understood, all undoubtedly closely related. In England they are to be met with almost everywhere. The seashore, the lonely moorland, the desolate marshes, the river's brink, or the woods—all these shelter some one or other of the Plover Tribe. Like the Gulls, many adopt a distinctive dress for the courting-season, which, however, is sometimes worn by the males only, and not by both sexes alike, as in the Gulls. One of the most striking and familiar instances of this change is seen in theGrey Plover. In winter the plumage of the upper-parts of this bird is dusky grey, that of the under-parts pure white; but in the spring the former is exchanged for a beautifully variegated mantle of black and white, and the latter becomes uniformly jet-black, save the under tail-coverts, which remain white.
WOODCOCK.Photo by C. N. Mavroyeni][Smyrna.WOODCOCK.The female is larger than the male.
Photo by C. N. Mavroyeni][Smyrna.WOODCOCK.The female is larger than the male.
Photo by C. N. Mavroyeni][Smyrna.
WOODCOCK.
The female is larger than the male.
OYSTER-CATCHER ON ITS NEST.Photo by A. H. P. Cruickshank][Wellington.OYSTER-CATCHER ON ITS NEST.Three eggs are laid in a slight hollow in the ground. The oyster-catcher is one of the most wary of the Plover Tribe, and very difficult to approach.
Photo by A. H. P. Cruickshank][Wellington.OYSTER-CATCHER ON ITS NEST.Three eggs are laid in a slight hollow in the ground. The oyster-catcher is one of the most wary of the Plover Tribe, and very difficult to approach.
Photo by A. H. P. Cruickshank][Wellington.
OYSTER-CATCHER ON ITS NEST.
Three eggs are laid in a slight hollow in the ground. The oyster-catcher is one of the most wary of the Plover Tribe, and very difficult to approach.
In theDunlin, again, we have a similar change, the upper-parts being in winter grey, the under-parts white: in the spring the former become black, with an admixture of rust-colour, and the latter black in so far as the breast is concerned, but the abdomen remains white.
In many of that section of the Plover Tribe distinguished as "Wading-birds," the changes which take place in the spring in the plumage of the upper-parts resemble those already instanced, but the under-parts turn to a rich chestnut instead of black. This occurs in the forms known as theGodwits,Knots, andSanderlings, for example.
In all the instances so far quoted, both male and female are coloured alike, but, as already hinted, occasionally the change of plumage affects the male only. This is the case with theRuff. The importance of this exception is still further increased by the fact that the change in coloration is accompanied by the development of a large frill around the neck, surmounted by two large tufts called "ears," and fleshy, brightly coloured warts around the beak. The coloured picture of the male in its spring dress, which will be found on another page, gives an admirable idea of the typical ruff, but it must necessarily fail to give any indication of one very remarkable fact concerning this frill and the two "ears," and for this reason—no two individuals ever have these peculiar feathers of the same coloration and pattern. The range of colour is certainly not great—the changes being rung, so to speak, on black, white, chestnut, bay, and ash-colour. Diversification is gained by contrasting the "ears" with the frill, and adding bars or streaks to the light coloration, and purple, green, and violet reflections to the dark. These ornaments are donned in a surprisingly short space of time, and are discarded as quickly, for they are scarcely completed by the month of May, and are thrown off again at the end of June. During the time that this resplendent livery is worn the males engage in mimic battles—which may occasionally develop into real ones—arranged apparently for the edification of the females, which, it seems, select as partners, at least for that season, those which please or excite most. This power of pleasing must certainly be considerable, for the ruff is a polygamous species.
DENHAM'S BUSTARD.Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S.][Regent's Park.DENHAM'S BUSTARD.This species, when "showing off," fills the gullet with air, having no special air-sac like the great bustard.
Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S.][Regent's Park.DENHAM'S BUSTARD.This species, when "showing off," fills the gullet with air, having no special air-sac like the great bustard.
Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S.][Regent's Park.
DENHAM'S BUSTARD.
This species, when "showing off," fills the gullet with air, having no special air-sac like the great bustard.
GREAT BUSTARDS.Photo by W. F. Piggott][Leighton Buzzard.GREAT BUSTARDS.The cock on the right is "showing off."
Photo by W. F. Piggott][Leighton Buzzard.GREAT BUSTARDS.The cock on the right is "showing off."
Photo by W. F. Piggott][Leighton Buzzard.
GREAT BUSTARDS.
The cock on the right is "showing off."
Formerly the ruff was a common bird in England, but the drainage of the fens and persecution have practically brought about its extermination.
At least two groups of plovers have succeeded in reversing the usual order of things in the matter of sexual plumage. These are thePhalaropes—which are British birds—and thePainted Snipe, in both of which the female is more brightly coloured and somewhat larger in size than themale. As is the case where this reversal occurs, the duties of incubation fall mainly or entirely upon the smaller and duller male. It is interesting to note, furthermore, that only in the phalaropes is there a seasonal change of plumage: in the painted snipe the same livery is worn all the year round.
Many of the plovers have no seasonal change of plumage, but both male and female wear all the year round, some a more or less markedly bright-coloured livery, as theDotterelandTurnstones, others a more sober vestment, as theCurlewsandSnipe, for example.
TheSnipeandWoodcockmay be cited as especially instructive forms in this connection, showing, in regard to the beak, for instance, undoubted proof of this structural modification, the result of adaptation to the peculiar method of seeking their food. This beak constitutes an organ of touch of great sensitiveness, and is used as a probe, to thrust down into the soft soil in the search for hidden worms.
INDIAN BUSTARDS.Photo by Billington][Queensland.INDIAN BUSTARDS.Bustards have very short toes, like many other birds which walk much on sandy soil.
Photo by Billington][Queensland.INDIAN BUSTARDS.Bustards have very short toes, like many other birds which walk much on sandy soil.
Photo by Billington][Queensland.
INDIAN BUSTARDS.
Bustards have very short toes, like many other birds which walk much on sandy soil.
Of the three species of snipe which occur in Britain, probably the one known as theCommon Snipeis most familiar; but it will, perhaps, be new to some to learn that this bird ranks as a musical performer, on account of a very extraordinary "bleating" or "drumming" noise which it gives forth, especially during the spring of the year—the season of courtship. We cannot describe this noise better, perhaps, than as an unusually high-pitched "hum," produced, it is generally held, by wind driven between the outer tail-feathers by the rapid vibration of the wings as the bird descends, or rather pitches, at a fearful pace, earthwards. These feathers have the shafts peculiarly thickened; and it is interesting to note that the characteristic sound may be artificially produced if they be fastened to a stick and rapidly whirled through the air.
The snipe and woodcock are not the only members of the Plover Tribe whose beaks have undergone marked structural modifications; indeed, many instances could be cited, but two or three must suffice. In theAvocetthe beak turns upwards like an awl, and the bird is in consequence known in some places as theCobbler's-awl Duck. In one particular, however, the beak differs from an awl, tapering as it does to an exceedingly fine point. When thebird feeds, it walks along in shallow water with the curved tip of the beak resting on the surface and the head moving swiftly from side to side, the jaws meanwhile being opened and closed with exceeding rapidity, and seizing instantly upon such small crustacea and other organisms as come in their way.
Although all the Plovers might be described as long-legged birds, theStiltsare quite exceptionally so, and afford evidence of modification in another direction. Relatively to the size of the body, the stilts have the longest legs of all living birds. They seek their prey by wading in shallow water, like the Avocets, to which they are closely related. One species—theBlack-winged Stilt—occasionally appears in Britain.
Some other members of the Plover Tribe—theJacanaof Brazil, and theWater-pheasantof India, Ceylon, and China, for example—have enormously long toes, as well as claws of great length.
STANLEY CRANE.Photo by W. P. Dando][Regent's Park.STANLEY CRANE.This is a South African species.
Photo by W. P. Dando][Regent's Park.STANLEY CRANE.This is a South African species.
Photo by W. P. Dando][Regent's Park.
STANLEY CRANE.
This is a South African species.
These birds are furthermore remarkable for the possession of formidable weapons of offence, borne on the wrist-joint of the wing, in the shape of long, sharp, and powerful spurs. Similar weapons are carried by certain plovers—theEgyptian Spur-winged Plover, for instance.
BUSTARDS AND CRANES.
The Plover Tribe, Bustards, Cranes, and Rails form a large group of diverse but probably closely related forms.
Of the Bustards, the most interesting and important species is theGreat Bustard. About a hundred years ago this magnificent bird might have been seen any day in such favoured localities as the Yorkshire and Lincolnshire wolds, the Norfolk and Suffolk "brecks," the heaths of Newmarket, or the downs of Berkshire and Wiltshire. It owes its extermination to several causes, foremost among which must be reckoned the reclaiming of waste land and improved methods of agriculture. "The bulk of its body," says Professor Newton, "renders it a conspicuous and stately object; and when on the wing, to which it readily takes, its flight is not inferior in majesty to that of the eagle." The expanse of the outstretched wings of a great bustard is 8 feet, or even more; and the weight of the male may even exceed 35 lbs. The female is smaller.
COMMON CRANE.Photo by Ottomar Anschütz][Berlin.COMMON CRANE.This handsome bird used to breed in Britain till the end of the sixteenth century.
Photo by Ottomar Anschütz][Berlin.COMMON CRANE.This handsome bird used to breed in Britain till the end of the sixteenth century.
Photo by Ottomar Anschütz][Berlin.
COMMON CRANE.
This handsome bird used to breed in Britain till the end of the sixteenth century.
MANCHURIAN CRANE.Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co., Parson's Green.MANCHURIAN CRANE.The piebald plumage of this species is distinctive.
Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co., Parson's Green.MANCHURIAN CRANE.The piebald plumage of this species is distinctive.
Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co., Parson's Green.
MANCHURIAN CRANE.
The piebald plumage of this species is distinctive.
To see the great bustard in a wild state to-day, one would have to travel to Spain. And if one could make a pilgrimage for this purpose during the birds' courting-season, some very wonderful antics on the part of the male would be witnessed. These antics make up what is really a very elaborate love-display. In this performance the bird inflates his neck with wind, draws his head closely down on to the back, throws up his tail, so as to make the most of the pure white feathers underneath, and sticks up certain of the quill-feathers of the wing in a manner that only a great bustard can. Certain long feathers projecting from each side of the head now stand out like the quills of the porcupine, forming a sort ofcheval-de-friseon either side of the head, and complete the picture, which, in our eyes, savours of the ludicrous. The inflation of the neck is brought about by filling a specially developed wind-bag between the gullet and the skin with air through a small hole under the tongue. For many years it was believed this bag was used as a sort of water-bottle, to enable the bird to live amid the arid wastes which were its chosen haunts. We now know what its real use is. Visitors to the Natural History Museum in London will find, beautifully mounted, a male bustard "in the act of showing off," as it is called, and hard by a dissection of the head and neck, showing this wonderful wind-bag.
Cranes.
COMMON CRANE.Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co.][Parson's Green.COMMON CRANE.The note of the crane is sonorous and trumpet-like.
Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co.][Parson's Green.COMMON CRANE.The note of the crane is sonorous and trumpet-like.
Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co.][Parson's Green.
COMMON CRANE.
The note of the crane is sonorous and trumpet-like.
WATTLED CRANE.Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co., Parson's Green.WATTLED CRANE.So called from the pendent lappets of the throat. It is a South African species.
Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co., Parson's Green.WATTLED CRANE.So called from the pendent lappets of the throat. It is a South African species.
Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co., Parson's Green.
WATTLED CRANE.
So called from the pendent lappets of the throat. It is a South African species.
One of the most beautiful of this group of peculiarly handsome birds was once numbered among British birds; now, alas! like the bustard, it is one of the rarest visitors. Till the end of the sixteenth century theCommon Cranereared its young in the fen-lands. In Saxon times we read of a request being made by King Ethelbert to Boniface, Bishop of Mayence, begging him to send over two falcons suitable for flying at the cranes in Kent. In one case, at a feast given by Archbishop Neville in the reign of Edward IV., as many as204 cranes figured in the menu. Later, it is interesting to note, they seem to have fallen somewhat into disfavour, since we read of a Dr. Muffet, of Wiltshire, somewhere about 1570, declaring cranes to be "distinctly unfit for sound men's tables.... Yet being young, killed with a goshawk, and hanged two or three days by the heels, eaten with hot gelentine, and drowned in sack, it is permitted unto indifferent stomachs."
SERIEMA.Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co.][Parson's Green.SERIEMA.A South American bird, at one time supposed to be related to the birds of prey.
Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co.][Parson's Green.SERIEMA.A South American bird, at one time supposed to be related to the birds of prey.
Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co.][Parson's Green.
SERIEMA.
A South American bird, at one time supposed to be related to the birds of prey.
The nest is placed on the ground, and contains from two to three eggs. The young are covered with down, and, like plovers and bustards, run as soon as hatched.
The cranes, like many other birds, notably some of the Plover Tribe, occasionally indulge in spirited outbursts of dancing. Mr. Nelson, writing of the birds of Alaska, tells how one day he was watching two cranes enjoying themselves in this manner. The male suddenly "wheeled his back towards the female and made a low bow, his head nearly touching the ground, and ending by a quick leap into the air. Another pirouette brought him facing his charmer, whom he greeted with a still deeper bow, his wings meanwhile hanging loosely by his side. She replied by an answering bow and hop, and then each tried to outdo the other in a series of spasmodic hops and starts, mixed with a set of comically grave and ceremonious bows."
Cranes vary much in general appearance. Some species have much of the skin round the head bare and brilliantly coloured, such as theSarus Craneof India and theCrowned Crane.
WHITE-BACKED TRUMPETERS.Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.WHITE-BACKED TRUMPETERS.The trumpeters are very aberrant members of the Crane Tribe.
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.WHITE-BACKED TRUMPETERS.The trumpeters are very aberrant members of the Crane Tribe.
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.
WHITE-BACKED TRUMPETERS.
The trumpeters are very aberrant members of the Crane Tribe.
TheWhiteandWhooping Cranesare birds of wondrous beauty. The first-named species has been not inaptly called the "lily of birds." The whole plumage, with the exception of the black quills, is white. The legs are red, as is also the face. Dr. Coues, an American ornithologist of great repute, relates how he once mistook one of these birds—theWhooping-crane—for an antelope. He and a companion saw what they "took to be an antelope standing quietly feeding, with his broad white stern toward us, and only about 500 yards off. We attempted for at least fifteen minutes to 'flag' the creature up to us, waving a handkerchief on a ramrod.... This proving unavailing, my friend proceeded to stalk the game, and crawled on his belly for about half the distance beforethe 'antelope' unfolded his broad black-tipped wings and flapped off, revealed at length as a whooping (white) crane."
GREAT CRESTED GREBE.Photo by W. F. Piggott][Leighton Buzzard.GREAT CRESTED GREBE.Young grebes in down are beautifully striped.
Photo by W. F. Piggott][Leighton Buzzard.GREAT CRESTED GREBE.Young grebes in down are beautifully striped.
Photo by W. F. Piggott][Leighton Buzzard.
GREAT CRESTED GREBE.
Young grebes in down are beautifully striped.
Another very remarkable species is theCrowned Crane. This is an African species, and takes its name from the tuft of curiously modified feathers on the top of the head. The coloured plate gives a good idea of its general appearance.
The Seriema.
This is a very hawklike-looking bird; indeed, by some ornithologists it has been regarded as closely allied to the Hawks and Eagles, and more especially to the Secretary-bird (page467). Really, however, it is a very ancient kind of crane.
TheTrumpeters, theCourlans, theKagu, and theSun-bitternare other ornithological puzzles. Concerning the precise affinities of these birds much is yet to be learnt; they are, however, undoubtedly related to the Cranes. The last mentioned is a small bird, with wonderfully beautiful wings, which it displays with great effect to its mate during the courting-season.
GREBES AND DIVERS, PENGUINS, AND TUBE-NOSED BIRDS.
THE GREBES AND DIVERS.